Into the Fire
by enlilwind
Summary: AU--I like James and I want the Marauders to LIVE! This is a James-survives story, but with its own tragedies--including Death Eaters, unforseen powers, and strange visions.
1. Meeting of the Order

Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Wish it were so but the Universe has yet to bow to my wishes, so when that day happens, all will be right and I can do without disclaimers.

This is my first fanfiction. It's a bit boring at first, but it'll get better as the story drags on. I'm setting the background/backdrop for the future. I'm in denial of Book 5 and Sirius' death. I just do not believe it and will refuse to believe it even if he comes back as a ghost and starts haunting Snape. I finished the book in protest. So, this has been rattling around in my brain for a while (including other HP stuff), and I finally got the nerve to put it up.

**Chapter 1**

Halloween, 1981

A sharp _crack_ resounded around the dark alley way in a seedy corner of London, followed by a man suddenly materializing into the dark stillness of the alley way. He quickly scanned his surrounding area, his hand clutching a long piece of wood, targeting each nook and cranny. His eyes had been specially modified by a spell to see through the darkness, and they confirmed that he was alone. Satisfied that the area was clear of any inhabitants, he relaxed his stance slightly and took in his dingy surroundings. James Potter released a slight sigh of relief when the alley way proved to be empty of both wizards and muggles. The Order had called an unexpected and last minute emergency meeting that night and James had been required to attend, since he was in charge of developing resistance to some of the new spells that Voldemort had created. He had no idea what the point of that night's meeting was, but Sirius had fire-called him to tell him it was urgent and that the Potters were required. He had been reluctant to go, something about the night not feeling right, but duty called and he had to attend. Sirius had told him that Dumbledore wanted Lily to come too, but his wife had put her foot down. She would not leave Harry with anyone else, but she also did not want to bring him out into the open. He recalled her words, spoken with maternal conviction. "James," she had said determinedly, "Voldemort wants Harry and I will not allow anything to happen to him, no matter what. As much as the Order wants me, I'm staying here at home and taking care of our baby. You, however, have to go, my love." She had smiled impishly then, and told him that he was going to be the Potter-family representative at the meeting. "Make sure you raise hell, love!"

James had taken her into his arms and kissed her, and then leaned down to kiss the baby she held in her arms. Harry, held comfortably in his mother's arms, smiled up at his father with his mother's green eyes and James' own messy black hair. God, how he loved his family. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to either Lily or Harry. He wasn't innocent or idealistic enough to not recognize that they were living in a time of war and anything could happen to either one of them, but he hoped to God that if anything were to happen, it would befall him, and not his beloved ones.

For now, however, James comforted himself with the fact that his family would be safe for that night at least, since they had entered into hiding and gotten a Secret Keeper. At the last minute, they had decided against using Sirius as their Secret Keeper, since the entire Wizarding World and their brother seemed to expect that Sirius would be the Secret Keeper. Death Eaters would undoubtedly be targeting Sirius now that everyone knew that the Potters had gone into hiding.

Then, there were the suspicions about Moony. James could not and would not even consider such ludicrous doubts. Neither would Lily. However much he didn't believe in the rumors either, Sirius was a trained auror, more suspicious of things than either James or Lily, and he had to consider it and had to take actions to make sure that the Potters were protected. Sirius, being an auror, friend, Godfather, and a member of the Order, would take no chances on the Potter's safety and thus had urged James to make Peter the Secret Keeper. James had been a bit reluctant to make Peter his Secret Keeper, not because he didn't trust Peter, but because he didn't know how long Peter would last long against torture. Amongst the four of them, Peter was the least strong and was not known to hold out long against pressure. However, like Sirius theorized, no one would ever suspect that Peter would be the Secret Keeper, and thus in the end, both he and the Potters would be safe.

James grimaced again as he thought of the new found suspicion against Remus. Was it possible that Remus, one of his closest and most trusted friends, was a traitor? James refused to believe that Remus would ever turn to the Dark. Remus, more so than even James or Sirius, had a deep and abiding loathing for anything to do with the Dark Arts. James supposed it came because of the long years Remus suffered under not only the cursed transformation he had to undergo every full moon, but also of the effects it had on his conscience. Remus was the most responsible and controlled person James had ever known because he knew what his werewolf form was capable of doing to innocents. Once, an innocent, well _not quite_ 'innocent,' person had almost been bitten by Remus. The poor lycanthrope had been wracked with worry and guilt for months afterwards. Granted that he had not planned to attack anyone, but the fact remained that Remus had blamed himself. Remus' lack of control over his own body and his actions drove him to daily nightmares, even now, after all this time. It was his curse that made Remus despise the Dark Arts because he knew exactly the horrors that could be done to and done by a person under its control. No, James could not believe that Remus would turn to the dark arts, especially after knowing him for so long and after having witnessed Remus' anguish at that long ago incident with Snape. Even so, although James would put his life in Remus' hands at anytime, he could not put his wife and his son's lives at risk because of his hopes. No matter what he thought and believed, his family's survival was the most important thing to James, and he would take any and all precaution to prevent anything from happening to them. If it meant changing Secret Keeper's without telling Remus, then so be it.

James wondered if Remus would be in attendance at the meeting tonight. Probably. Sirius's suspicions about Remus had not been confirmed and had not been reported to the Order yet. Because the possibility of it was still so slim, Sirius had decided to wait and investigate before making any accusations. James had no doubt that Sirius would be paying extra attention to the werewolf that night.

_Enough_, he told himself, _concentrate on finding the secret door so you can get this meeting done with. _James against scanned the alley way, making sure that no one had come upon him. He raised his wand and whispered a quick scanning spell to verify that no magical being was present in the alley way. He could detect nothing but a couple of ordinary rats scurrying to find some food. Good. Then, reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a small glass ball that fit into his palm, and whispered the secret code words into it. The ball vibrated in his palm and a narrow beam of white light shot from it straight into the floor, a few feet to the right of where James stood. He walked to the targeted spot the light illuminated. James stepped on the spot, pointed his wand to the floor, and said, "_Entreatum!" _A thin circle of gold formed around James and the light shimmered for a moment. Then, James sunk into the dirty pavement of the alley, the light receding with his disappearance.

James landed on his feet, slightly stumbling from the sudden feel of the floor beneath him. He righted himself and took in his surroundings. It was a small square shaped, windowless room, with a large square table in the middle. The walls were bare and gray, going well with the sterile feel of the room. Within the room stood the most important members of the Order, which included Dumbledore, McGonnegal, Mungundus Fletcher, Rubeus Hagrid, the Longbottoms, and a few other witches and wizards who were placed in the ministry, the press, and within the merchant's guild. Sirius Black was within the Aurors and Remus Lupin was the contact amongst, naturally, the dark creatures, but surprisingly amongst the muggles and squibs as well. Peter had never been included in these meetings, usually because he was away on errands in his role as messenger to the inner Order, but also because it never occurred to any of the members to include him.

James realized they had been waiting for him to arrive, as it looked as though everyone else was already present.

Dumbledore nodded to James. "Thank you, James, for coming on such short notice, and for leaving your family at such a time."

James shrugged and took his seat in between Remus and Sirius.

Dumbledore continued. "We are gathered here tonight because we believe that Voldemort has developed a new spell that harnesses the power of a Dementor into a single spell, a new weapon that will suck all thoughts of happiness from a person and in the end, ensnare their soul. However, this spell will not only steal a person's soul, but will make that person the master's slave for as long as the master holds the soul. Unfortunately, this is not a spell derived from any that we have seen before and is rumored to be more powerful and effective than the Imperious curse. We are also unsure of the range of this spell, whether it will encompass all those present, as a Dementor's presence would induce, or whether it will work towards one person only. In either case, it is completely new and thus has no counter spell as yet."

The announcement was met with stunned silence. This was news indeed. If Voldemort could now create the same effect the Dementor's did, without the Patronus spell as a counter measure, the effect could be devastating on the side of Light. God! Wasn't it enough that they he had the Dementors on his side, but now this! What would the Wizarding population do? This was as bad, in some sense even worse, than the Avada Kadavra spell. In that instance, a loved one would perish, never to return. This new spell would force the loved now not only to become a zombie, but would also force the loved one to fight for the Dark side, making it even more difficult to withstand the onslaught.

The atmosphere in the room darkened with gloom. If the inner members of the Order could feel such despair, it was a wonder the Wizarding community as a whole was slowly losing hope.

Dumbledore was not finished with his news. "We have also learned that Voldemort plans to use this new spell in an attack that is to take place on the Ministry of Magic. We are not quite sure the exact moment of this attack, but it is to take place in the next week. I believe that we need to fortify the Ministry wards as soon as possible to make sure it withstands any kind of force by the Death Eaters. We will also have set a trap for them inside the building, should they indeed breach it." He paused for a second, allowing them to absorb the information. "Sirius, I will leave the exact plan of defense to you and your aurors. However, we must all understand this: The Ministry _cannot_ fall. If this happens, although it might not be a blow to our resources, it will be a major blow to the public morale in our fight against Voldemort. The Wizarding world cannot lose hope. The consequences would be disastrous."

Sirius nodded with understanding, accepting his role in the defense of the Ministry. It was his job to do so and he would not shirk his duty. Sirius Black never backed down from a fight and would never give into the Dark. He, like James and Remus, abhorred the Dark Arts. His family's long support of Voldemort and their prejudice against anything not 'pure blood,' disgusted Sirius and made him vow to fight against the Dark as long as he lived.

Then, Dumbledore paused again, this time looking as though in pain and glancing at James and the Longbottom's as he stated, "With this new spell, especially if it has a significantly high range, there is the possibility that more of our numbers could be converted into their slaves. If that is the case, the Potters and the Longbottoms are in greater danger than ever before. I am afraid that England is not safe for you anymore and I believe that it is time for you and your families to go underground, perhaps to America or East Asia. If you remain in England, it is more than likely than not that at some point in time, someone is going to find you and all will be lost. Your sons must survive."

James opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly a sharp pain jolted through his body. A wave of heat flooded his senses and, as the wave of blackness crashed into his head, he heard a voice shout his name in concern. James wanted to reply, but the pain overtook him and he was vaulted into the vision.


	2. Visions

**Chapter two**

James shuddered as wave after wave of pain flooded his body. Faintly, he heard someone shout again, and though he wanted to answer, James could not because his throat was clogged by the heat of the death spell. He could feel the power of the spell and could feel the impact as it hit, could feel the burn of flesh and snuffing of life. He heard a woman's scream echo reverberate through his body. The words, n_ot Harry, please, not Harry, _sounded through his mind, only to be cut off at mid scream. He _knew_, just _knew_, that the woman, a woman who meant a great deal to him, was dead. James wanted to also scream in pain, denial roaring through him. NO! NO, NO, NOOOO!

But, he couldn't get anything out. James gasped for breadth, wanting to roar with the pain of the moment, but nothing came. Then, he heard the harsh delighted laugh. James wanted to shut it out, but could do nothing but be caught up in this nightmare. His body arched and unfelt tears streamed down his anguished face. Enough, he wanted to shout, enough! But, fate was not kind. The harsh, evil laughter continued, gaining in volume inside James' head, feeling as though it would split his head asunder. Then, he heard a baby cry in terror. NO! He screamed internally. Not him, not him! He knew the baby, a boy, was about to be killed by that evil laughter as well, and he couldn't bear that thought.

The laughter sounded again and he could feel the build up of the dark magic. James wanted to turn away in pain, but again, the power that held him would not release him from the vision. Then, green magic was released and James tensed, waiting for the death wail of the baby. But no such sound came. Rather, he heard the coarse laugh turn to a scream of disbelief and rage, and James felt the green magic rip into a million pieces, dissipating into a cloud of green. He knew the dark presence hadn't been fully destroyed and that the green cloud was indeed sentient, but it was very weak, bleeding invisibly from some unexpected blow. A second more, and James felt it fade from his perspective. He heard the baby cry in irritation and thought it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard. His tense body suddenly relaxed and the vision that had gripped him in its tight fist, left him. James let go and fell.

James didn't know what woke him, but one moment he was in darkness and the next, he heard the sound of life fill his consciousness. He felt the cold floor below him and realized that he was lying prone on the floor of the little gray room. There were voices around him and he tried to concentrate on what they were saying.

"James! James, come on, wake up, that's it, come on! No, no, don't go under again, come up, old pal, you can do it!" The voice was urgent and agitated, a familiar voice, a trusted voice.

"Sirius! Let him come up on his own, don't push him! He just needs to relax. That's right, James, just relax. You're okay, just fine." Another much loved voice, but more calm and smooth than the first.

"I believe, gentlemen, he is indeed awake." He knew this voice; it was Dumbledore, his old school master, now his friend and mentor.

James slowly opened his eyes and was confronted with the worried faces of Moony and Padfoot on either side of him; other faces seem to be crowded around behind them. Sirius broke out into a wide grin of relief, while Remus gave a slight smile, but it too conveying the relief he felt that James was awake and no longer in pain. James wanted to give a smile in return, but his body seemed drained of any energy, and all he could seem to do was blink rapidly and breathe.

Sirius broke the silence. "For God's sakes, Prongs, what the hell happened? You were down on the floor, withering and shuddering. What in God's name happened?" Remus shot Sirius a rebuking look, but it did not face the auror, as usual.

For those few moments, James had forgotten what he had witnessed in the vision. And, indeed, it was a vision, though he had never had one before. James drew a deep breadth, his face filled with horror and suddenly sat upright, forcing his friends to jump back in order to avoid colliding with him. He scanned the room and found Dumbledore, who also had a worried look on his old face.

"Voldemort!" James gasped, wanting to say more, but couldn't get it out of his mouth fast enough. "Harry…LILY!" James knew, without any doubt, that he had just heard Lily and Harry. There was no doubt in his mind that his wife was dead. The thought sent a jolt of pain inside him. And his son…his son…God, James had no clear idea of what happened. He knew Harry had survived Voldemort, but whether he was still alive was another question.

Dumbledore quickly came closer and said urgently, "What is it James? What have you seen?"

James was gasping with his effort to control his shaking. With Sirius' help, he stood up from the floor, swaying a bit, as the blood rushed to his head. He shook it to clear it and turned to Dumbledore, who was standing next to him. James reached out with a shaky hand and grasped the old wizard in the front of his robe.

"Voldemort…Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow. Tonight, he came. I…just..heard them." James bowed his head, shudders racking his body. "Lily…dead….Harry…Oh God, Harry!...He's, he's..alive…don't know how! Voldemort, gone…vaporized…God, Lily!" James swallowed with the effort to speak coherently, his control cracking with the need to scream in anguish.

"James!" Sirius shouted, but Dumbledore put up a hand to silence his friend.

"James, are you sure of what you saw just now?" Dumbledore asked quietly, urgently.

James urgently nodded, then said, "I've got to go, I've to get there!" James made a move to find the small keyed ball that had allowed him entrance into the secret chamber. Sirius grabbed his arm to stay his movement, while Remus moved in front of him and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"James!" Remus said urgently, "please, calm down. Think! How could Voldemort have found out where Lily and Harry where? He could never have found out their whereabouts, especially since you move about everyday and the only one to know where your family is Sirius as your Secret Keeper. There is no way Voldemort could have gotten to them!"

Sirius drew in a startled breadth then, his face going pale, his eyes growing large with disbelief. The hand that restrained James tightened and his knuckles turned white. He whispered, "No, no, it can't be."

James bowed his head down, folding over in his grief. "No, not Sirius….Peter, Peter was the Secret Keeper, we switched….he…must have told…revealed their whereabouts. I told him I was leaving to come tonight and we arranged to communicate afterwards so I could let him know that I was back. We were at Godric's Hollow."

The room was stunned again and Remus' face grew as pale and horrified as Sirius' had become.

Dumbledore's voice slashed through the heavy silence. "I see. This changes the situation. We must get organized and move to Godric's Hollow to see what has happened. But, we cannot just rush into the situation without taking precaution." He turned to Mundungus Fletcher.

"Mr. Fletcher, if you would be so kind, would you please make a surveillance of Godric's Hollow from above ground. Since the Secret Keeper's oath has been broken, you will be able to find the place. You can communicate the information to me through this." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and created a small round mirror framed in silver. "It is enchanted so that you can have direct communication to me and everyone present here." Fletcher took the mirror, nodded, and, pulling out his keyed-ball of light, disappeared from the chamber.

James tried once again to leave the chamber, his urgency to get to his family driving him. But, his friends had not let go of him as yet. They both still had a tight hold on him, both silent with their thoughts, though, they, like James, were also shaking with the news.

But, before any of them moved, Dumbledore cut in again, his calm voice washing over them. "Now, we must decide on a plan of action. If Godric's Hollow has been razed, no doubt, there are Death Eater's about the place. We shall surround the area at certain points and move in." He waived his wand again and a map of the area surrounding James' house appeared. Dumbledore pointed to several areas where they could apparate to without drawing attention to their presence. He assigned various positions to the present witches and Wizards, giving them instructions as to what they should do. Neither James, Sirius, or Remus listened or participated in the conversation. They stood side by side, each lost in his own thought.

Sirius was praying that this was all a nightmare, that Peter hadn't truly betrayed James and Lily, that he hadn't handed the information to Voldemort. Sirius felt the impact of the blow, knew that it was his own fault for coming up with the idea of making Peter Secret Keeper. It was his fault, and now Lily might be dead. His one salvation lay in the hope James had not seen the present, but was seeing some vision of the future that could be. _Please, please let it have been false._ His redemption lay in that one hope, though even he could not help think that it was a false hope.

Remus was reeling with the information that Lily might be gone and that Peter could have betrayed them all. He hadn't known that Peter had been made Secret Keeper and in a flash, he realized why. _They had thought that I was the traitor._ There had been very faint rumors growing and he had also heard about it. He could not imagine how or why his best friends had thought that he was the one who would betray them, and he felt a pang at the thought that his brothers had not trusted him. How could they think that that? But then, Remus realized the irony of the situation. He would never have thought that any of them would betray the other, yet Peter, another brother, might have betrayed them all. And because of that, Lily and Harry could be gone. Remus reeled at the thought and prayed that James' vision had been false. He had never had visions before and knew that James had no Seer blood in him. It was possible that James was hallucinating, but even Remus felt that it was a hollow hope. All he could do now was pray that things hadn't been blown to hell.

As for James, he could not stop hearing Lily's scream over and over. His wife was dead. He knew the others were trying to believe that his vision was wrong, that it was something unexpected, but not necessarily true. He too hoped that he had a false vision, but James knew that it was true deep inside. His shudders were overtaking him and if he didn't get to Godric's Hollow soon and see what had happened he would burst. Dumbledore was doing something, but James couldn't pay attention, couldn't get past the tremors of his body and the screams in his head. Oh God, what would he do if Lily really was gone? And Harry…

Dumbledore finished giving the other Witches and Wizards their direction. He turned to the three Marauders and saw that they had not heard a single thing he had said. And, because he knew what they were going through, he gently called to them to get their attention.

"Gentleman," he said, "it is time for action. When Fletcher reports back, I am having the others apparate to certain spots around the house. I wish you three to join me at this spot." He pointed to a spot that was in front of the house, diagonal to the front gates. There was some bush covering there and it would conceal them enough from any Death Eaters that might be there.

"Do you understand me? We must not rush in there without precaution. We will apparate there, take stalk, then go in."

The three marauders nodded numbly to this. Just as Dumbledore was about to continue, the mirror in his cloak started to vibrate and chime. Dumbledore withdrew the pocket mirror, waved his wand at it so that it grew to ten times its size and let it over the square table so that everyone could hear what Fletcher had to report. Fletcher came into view, his brown hair waving around from the wind and they all could see the stars over his shoulder.

There was some sort of explosion and sound in the background and Fletcher had to shout into the mirror to be heard. "The house is burning and falling apart! There doesn't seem to be anyone here, all the Death Eaters have run away. I myself saw a few of them hurrying away from the house. I don't know if anyone survived, but it doesn't look good. We need reinforcements NOW!"

Dumbledore raised his voice and replied, "We understand Mundungus. We shall be there momentarily. Stay in the air till we get there and keep a close watch for Death Eaters." Fletcher nodded his assent and the mirror blackened. Dumbledore waived at it once again and it split into smaller mirrors, going to each of the members present.

"Take these with you and stick to the plan on where you should apparate. If you find anything, just use the mirror to communicate and we will all be able to hear you. Be careful and do not take any unnecessary risks. Hagrid, you will come with me." The giant man nodded.

Dumbledore looked at James. "Mr. Potter," he said, using his old school-master's voice, "will you be able to apparate without splinching yourself?"

James looked at his mentor's face, the eyes no longer twinkled in its customary fashion, but which held a cold determination, and nodded. "I will do what I have to do."

Dumbledore accepted his word. "Very well, let us be off then."

As one, the members of the Order of the Phoenix left the sterile gray room and apparated to Godric's Hollow that windy night in the fall of 1981. But none of them were prepared for the sight that met their eyes.


	3. Burning Home

**Chapter Three**

Godric's Hollow burned. The flames were leaping high into the night sky. While most of the right and left wings of the house burned, the middle section of the house was as yet flame free. Rather, the house shook with falling walls and sunken floorboards. The Order members apparated to their designated spots and just stared at the destruction. It was utterly horrifying to see that beautiful house fall in such a manner.

Sirius saw the house burning, the heat from it searing his face. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Lily and Harry were dead and it was all his fault. If it were not for his plan to make Peter the Secret Keeper, the two of them would still be alive. _This is my fault, mine._

Remus stared at the flames and wanted to curl in despair. He couldn't believe this had happened, that Lily, his pack sister, and Harry, the pack cub, were gone. He wanted to throw back his head and howl like the wolf he was, wanted to shout that his pack had been broken. _They were gone._

James apparated into the spot a second behind Sirius and Remus and saw the destruction. His home burned.

"Oh God, please, please," He whispered, the destruction in front of him sliding like a dagger into his heart. But, no matter, he had to get in. James knew, without any doubt, that Harry was still alive and still inside the house. He could not, would not, let his son perish amongst the flames after Lily's sacrifice. He started running to the gates, and didn't pause even as he heard the shouts after him.

With the wards down, James had no problem apparating into the other side of the gate. He paused in front of the burning house, the fire so hot that he could feel it heating his skin. He took stalk of the areas that were burning and the areas that he could apparate into, and quickly said a spell that would douse him with continual moisture as he went in. James quickly apparated into the main hall in the middle part of the house and looked to the right wing, where he knew his son would be. "Oh god, Harry, hold on, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

The walls were burning and the bag smoke was beginning to clog the hallway. Holding his arm to his face, James ran into the nursery, blasting the door down and running inside.

There, in the crib standing up against the railing was Harry, screaming his head off. The walls were all aflame, all the furniture also aflame and quickly falling down around them. On the floor, in front of the crib, was Lily's dead body. James didn't allow himself to think about it, just leapt over the body to reach the crib.

"Harry, thank god, Harry." James reached into the crib and grabbed his son, opened his shirt, and placed his son inside his shirt so that his hands were free. "Hold on now, da's got you, just hold on Harry." The baby's voice quieted a bit, though James hoped it wasn't due to asphyxiation.

"Okay, now we've got to get out of here!" James quickly knelt to the body on the floor and turned it over. He couldn't let himself think of this body as his wife, because if he did, he would never be able to do what he had to do. He was going to apparate all three of them out of here and he needed all his concentration to do so. One usually could not apparate extra people, but it was possible with the greatest concentration and skill. What James had to do was make it seem as though Harry and the dead body were extensions of his own body, so that when he apparated, it would be as though he was apparating his entire body out of there. James had never tried it before, but desperate situations called for desperate measures.

It was difficult. James' mind kept feeling the wrists he was holding on to and kept picturing Lily, the time when he held her wrists to measure them, the time he placed a bracelet on her wrist, the time he…No! "Concentrate damnit, concentrate," he told himself "This is not lily, you do not feel wrists. What you do feel is a long body that will become extensions of your arms. Concentrate, concentrate!"

James was faltering and he could feel the heat crowd around him, the dark smoke closing in. He knew that in a minute or two, they would be completely surrounded and James would have to leave Lily there. Harry, his son, was alive and James had to make sure that he stayed alive, even if he had to leave Lily behind. But, he had one more minute to try. _Come on, it's an extension of yourself. Concentrate! _

Harry suddenly let out of a sound, a cross between a whimper and a groan. Just then, James felt his son place a tiny palm against his heart, his little hand warm and soft. He opened his eyes and stared at Harry, who was gazing up at his father with calm green eyes. James hadn't noticed in his rush before that his son now had some sort of lightening bold scar in the middle of his forehead. But, just then, the house gave a massive shudder and James couldn't contemplate anything else. He felt a surge of magic go through him, and he didn't know if it was his own or, wondrously, if it was Harry's. Without questioning it, he grabbed hold of Lily again, closed his eyes, visualized them as one, and, with the magic surging through him like a tidal wave, he apparated. A second later, the walls, weakened by the fire, crashed down and the room imploded.

Sirius and Remus were frantic. James, the fool, had decided to rush headlong into the burning inferno and had apparated inside. No back up, no plan.

"I've got to go after him, I've got to help!" Sirius shouted to Remus, but Remus pulled him back.

Sirius turned to snarl at him, but Remus pointed to the house, shouting, "Sirius! Look! The fire is spreading to the middle part of the house, right where the nursery is and where James probably apparated to! We have to control the spread of the fire, to give James a chance to get to Harry!"

Sirius saw what Remus meant and nodded. They apparated to the same spot that James had apparated to in front of the house. Together, their wands out, they pointed to parts of the house and shouted, "_Acqua Maxima!" _Water poured out of their wands and shot to the spots where the fire was spreading the fastest. The other Witches and Wizards, seeing what the men were trying to do, quickly ran to position themselves around the house to use the same water spell.

Sirius and Remus heard Dumbledore appear at their side. Sirius shouted, "He's in the right wing!"

Dumbledore, his eyes blazing, pointed his wand at the right wing, the area of the house where the structure seemed to be most likely to fall apart. He pointed his wand and said, "_Mortorum balancia!"_ The walls of the house that was about to collapse stilled though fire continued to blaze. Dumbledore was holding on to about ten walls and the two end sections of the building, making sure that the whole of it didn't collapse inward, hoping to give James a chance to reach the nursery. There was no way that they could hold it off much longer. _Hurry James, hurry!_

Just then, the house gave a massive shudder. The house was collapsing and there wasn't enough magic to forestall it. "NO!" Sirius screamed.

The fire blazed larger and overcame the magic. The present members of the order scattered back from the destruction. Remus clamped an hand around Sirius' arm and dragged him back, his werewolf strength controlling the other Marauder.

"Remus, wait! I can do this, I have to get to James!"

"NO SIRUS! The house is collapsing, we have to get out! You'll burn!"

"NO! James!" screamed Sirius, trying to fight off Remus' hold.

But, just then, they heard a loud _CRACK_! It was a very sooty James cradling a silent baby inside his shirt and a dead body clutched in his hands.

He collapsed on his knees, letting go of the body and wrapping his arms around the baby, rocking back and forth, whimpering, whispering, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God."

The others were running, knowing that they had to get themselves away from the fiery house, but James seemed incapable of moving from the spot. But it was still too dangerous to be so close to the fire and the smog.

Remus cursed, "God Damnit! We need to move NOW!" As he was physically the strongest because of his wolf-curse, he picked up Lily's body in a fireman's carry, while Sirius grabbed James' right arm, jerked him upright and dragged him backwards towards the gate. Dumbledore had already gone ahead to blast the gates so that they could reach safety unhindered. They were just in time, for at that moment, the house gave a giant explosion, the flames reaching thirty feet outward, the light illuminating the surrounding area, gave a massive groan, and finally collapsed inward.

When they reached the area outside of the gates, James dropped to his knees, still clutching Harry inside of his shirt and staring at the house that he and Lily had lived in. He was still in shock, so the destruction of the house didn't seem to penetrate his conscious; he stayed on his knees just dazedly staring at the destruction.

Remus laid the body on the ground and only then got a good look at the face. He reeled back feeling nauseated. "No," he whispered, "no, no, oh please no." It was Lily, beautiful Lily, whose face was pale and green tinged. Her face looked as beautiful and as peaceful in death as it had in life. She looked, he thought, like she was under a sleeping spell and would wake up any moment now.

Remus heard a sound to his right, like an animal's whimper. Turning, he realized it was Sirius, also staring Lily's body, his eyes haunted and ravaged by grief. He looked as though the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders and nothing could remove it.

James had also turned at Sirius' groan and saw what he was staring at. Lily. His wife, his beloved. He finally stared at her beautiful face, so still and silent, no animation left in it. She was gone. The pain was unbearable. James threw back his head then and howled with his sorrow and rage, an animal expressing its grief at the death of its mate. The brothers of his pack joined in, expressing their own grief at the loss of a loved one.

James heard and took comfort in their presence, and hung his head, tears streaming down his face, his grief overwhelming. His tears wet his son's head and the baby squirmed inside his shirt. Harry had been remarkably good since they had apparated out of the burning building. The baby had been so quiet that everyone had forgotten that he was there. When Harry finally moved, protesting the position of his body inside James' shirt and the tears wetting his head, his father pulled his head back with a start.

James stared down at his beautiful little boy, his eyes the same color has his mother's, and wrapped his arms around the baby, rocking back and forth. He kept murmuring assurances to the baby, even though it was more for himself than Harry.

"Shh, it's okay, son, it's okay. I'll take care of you, everything will be okay. Mommy..," his voice broke at that, but he continued, still rocking Harry, "Mommy is gone now, but I'm here. I'll always be there, Harry, no matter what. I promise this to you now. I'll never leave, no matter what. Shh, shhh.." James kept repeating the words like a litany, his voice breaking over and over, his tears mingling with the words.

Sirius dropped on a knee on James' right and put his left hand on James' shoulder, lending him support. He gripped him hard and hung his head, breathing hard, silent tears coming down his own face. Remus sat down on James left and gripped his left shoulder, lending comfort and strength. Tears glittered in his eyes as he stared at the house, then at the body of Lily Potter, lying in front of them on the ground. Nothing would be the same again.

Sirius shuddered and gasped, "I'm so sorry, James! So..very…sorry. This is all my fault, my mistake. If…I…hadn't talked you into switching Secret Keepers.." He couldn't go on, his voice clogged with his guilty and sorrow.

Dumbledore, who had apparently been giving instructions to the others, finally interrupted them. "Gentleman, we must leave this place. There is no doubt that the Ministry will be arriving here any moment, with them, the media. We cannot allow the Death Eaters to know that anyone survived the fire. We will go to Hogwarts."


End file.
